A Wharton man was listed in stable condition at Citizens Medical Center after a semi-truck collided with his vehicle Thursday afternoon.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Wayne Cipriani said the injured man, Matthew Colwell, 27, of Wharton, will be ticketed for turning left from the wrong lane.

The T-bone wreck occurred about 2:45 p.m., north of Telferner, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and Business 59, Cipriani said. The speed limit there is 55 mph.

The driver of the semi-truck, Trevor Waite, 50, of Katy, said he was driving behind Colwell in the right lane when Colwell's Buick suddenly dropped speed a few hundred feet from the turn on Farm-to-Market Road 1686.

"It looked like he might have been lost," Waite said.

He attempted to pass Colwell from the left lane, but Colwell cut across his lane to head down FM 1686.

"He made that turn without looking in his mirror," Waite said. "He turned right in front of me."

The vehicles piled through the guardrail at the highway ramp before stopping in a ditch. Both vehicles were totaled, the trooper said.

"I had my foot down to the floor," Waite said. "I tried to stop it, but there's no way with a load that heavy. I thought he was going to stop."

Waite said he started trucking 15 years ago. His haul Thursday was a heavy load of lumber for McCoy's Building Supply from Sugar Land.

Eddie Cantu, 55, of Bloomington, was readying to turn onto U.S. 59 when he saw the wreck.

"It all happened so fast," Cantu said. "It was just a big bang. He just skidded along the road."

Cipriani said he did not believe Colwell was wearing a seatbelt.

Victoria County Fire Department, DPS and Victoria County Sheriff's Office responded to the wreck.